Author: Staff Writer

Ongoing volatility, further progress on regulations and continued interest from institutional investors can be expected in 2021 according to Luno, South Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. “Looking back at our predictions from last year – the Bitcoin halving happened without a hitch and the industry matured as institutional investors entered the market. 2020 was a proper stress test with Bitcoin hitting a low of around $5,000 in March and a high of $28,000. The new year is following the same trend with the price already reaching the $40,000 level,” says Marius Reitz, Luno’s GM for Africa. Institutional investors will continue to…

For the past two years, we published AlphaCode, South Africa’s leading FinTech thinkers, predictions about the financial technology (FinTech) landscape. We believe that FinTech represents the digital revolution that is transforming the way customers access financial products and services. As such, FinTech is gaining significant momentum and causing disruption to the traditional value chain. South Africa has a flourishing FinTech industry underpinned by a sophisticated and supportive ecosystem. “Each year, at AlphaCode, we use our vantage point of the fintech landscape to share what we expect this year. We had no idea last January that a whole new world awaited. One…

South African tech start-up and online tech-education leader, HyperionDev, is inviting the public to become stakeholders in the company’s growing tech education business. Through the investment, HyperionDev will invest R3.5 million in coding scholarships to deserving South Africans. The UK-based capital funding drive – which has already realised  £1,5million (±R32 million/ ±US$2 million) in capital commitments –  will facilitate HyperionDev’s expansion into UK and US markets on the back of the company’s success in Africa. The impact investment opportunity affirms HyperionDev’s commitment to delivering positive social impact by answering a pressing need for tech education and skills development in South…

DFA today announced that it has been awarded Top Employer status in South Africa for 2021 by the Top Employers Institute. DFA joins 1,691 companies in 120 countries globally, including only 97 local companies, who are recognized by the Top Employer Institute for their efforts in various facets of employee management. With headquarters in the Netherlands and offices in several countries around the world – including South Africa – Top Employers Institute was established with the aim of promoting excellence in human capital management to support business strategy. DFA CEO, Thinus Mulder, said that achieving the certification was the culmination…

Mara Phones, South Africa’s manufacturer of smartphones, has appointed Sylvester Taku to the position of managing director with immediate effect. Taku has been doing business in Africa for over 20 years and has made accelerating growth through smart, well-considered moves his signature style. He has been the Head of Growth at Mara Phones since 2019 and led the opening of the first bricks-and-mortar Mara Experience Store in Maponya Mall, Soweto, exactly a year after Mara Phones unveiled the country’s first smartphone manufacturing facility in KZN. “Sylvester is bold and dependable with an amazing ability to spot the next opportunity,” Mara…

Warrant Officer, Roger Mario Kivido has been arrested allegedly dealing in copper cables. Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha said Kivido was arrested on Friday, 22 January 2021. Kivido, a 53-year old rogue cop, is stationed at New Brighton police station. “The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team received a tipoff on 11 October 2020, regarding a police officer in full uniform, driving a marked police vehicle who was selling copper cables at a local scrapyard along Grahamstown Road, in Port Elizabeth,” Ramovha said in a statement. “Preliminary investigation was carried out at the scrapyard in a form of an enquiry.…

As part of its ongoing commitment to prevent Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Vodacom has zero-rated its Bright Sky SA app. The app was launched in November last year. The zero-rating of the app ensures that Vodacom users will not incur any data costs for downloading or accessing many of the referral links to GBV support services found in the app. Given that not everyone can afford data, Vodacom is highly focused on making connectivity more accessible, particularly when it comes to essential tools and services such as Bright Sky. “Technology has a powerful part to play in solving some of the…

Altron Systems Integration (ASI), a subsidiary of JSE-listed Altron, has joined the NVIDIA Partner Network (NPN), becoming the first Compute DGX partner and solutions provider in South Africa. ASI has joined NPN as a Solution Provider focusing on the Compute and Compute DGX competencies, serving customers across Southern Africa in their AI journey. This gives ASI access to the latest hardware, trainings, technical documentation, technical specialists, and interesting promotions for its customers, and allows the business to distribute NVIDIA’s AI solutions across Africa. “NVIDIA’s expertise in building end-to-end AI and data science solutions and frameworks enable every enterprise to realise…

If you’re interested in scooping up a brand new Galaxy S21 series phone, you can now place your pre-order at Telkom. The new S Series from Samsung includes the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra. Telkom announced on Wednesday that the new Samsung’s smartphones are available from Telkom online store. In-store sales will start from 5 February 2021, said Telkom. The Galaxy S21 series is the latest flagship offering in devices by Samsung and boasts state-of-the-art innovation and head-turning and iconic design including a pro-grade camera and advanced processor ever in a Galaxy device. It also introduces…

MultiChoice South Africa today announced that 236 students will benefit from bursaries worth R26 million in 2021. The company is making tertiary education a reality for students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, Broadcasting, Media, Film & Television, Human Resources, Finance, Economics, Law, Communications, UI/UX/CX Design, Consumer Insights and Advertising. “We believe investing in these fields of study is critical for the future of our industry and our country,” says MultiChoice South Africa’s CEO, Nyiko Shiburi. “We are excited to provide access to the necessary resources for these future leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to thrive and flourish…